Today we will look at the J1 visa for Internship (INT) and Professional Career Training (PCT) programs. These programs can be for a maximum of 18 months.
The INT and PCT programs are part of a broad group of programs called Trainee programs. Also under this umbrella include;
- medical trainees
- veterinary trainees
- pharmaceutical trainees
- aviation trainees
- academic/research trainees
With many of the above programs, you are generally sponsored directly by the institution hosting you like a University or Aviation Training facility and not by a 3rd party organization. This is different to most of the J-1 visa program as a 3rd party organization generally has to sponsor your visa.
Internship (INT) Program:
* The person must be at least 18 years old.
* The student must be enrolled on a full-time basis at a nationally accredited tertiary institution like a college or university or have graduated within 12 months.
* The person must have sufficient English language ability to function normally in a business setting.
* The student must be at least one year into their chosen field of study and the end result of their study must result in a degree, certificate, qualification, etc. like a Bachelors Degree
* The trainee program should have correlation with the student’s course of study (this is loosely applied given that most roles have such vague job descriptions)
Professional Career Training (PCT) Program:
* The trainee should be between 20 and 40 years of age.
* The trainee has to be graduates of a tertiary institutions with at least 1 years non-US work experience related to their qualification OR have at least 5 years work experience
* The trainee must be a high school graduate
* Since 2007, a 2 year Bearer Rule applies to all countries. This basically means after a PCT program you have to remain outside the US for at least 2 years before being allowed to apply for any other US visa (not including visa waiver program).
There are a number of costs associated with being able to get the J-1 visa and these include;
- Program Fees to your Sponsor Organization and/or Local Affiliate (generally this is calculated by how many months your program is can be up to $1,500 for a full 18 month program last time I looked). Often this may include your Insurance as well
- Insurance coverage if not included above. (your sponsor organization will often give you a list of approved providers if they don’t include themselves)
- SEVIS Fee (I-901 form) which stands for Student Exchange Visitor Information System
- US Consulate/Embassy Application costs (or if within US, USCIS transfer visa fees)
In terms of finding a position. For the most part part it is best to use the services of your Sponsor Organization or Local Affiliate as they have a list of companies willing to hire foreigners. Often the fact you are using their list while probably making it easier to land a role mean that the Program Fees you pay will be on the higher side of the numbers described above.
Many people avoid paying the higher program fees by searching on their own which can be difficult from abroad but certainly not impossible and thousands do it each year. Craiglist, Moster and LinkedIn are among the best sites to find these roles
The J-1 visa also has a J-2 dependent visa for generally spouses of trainees to present in the US as well. The J-2 dependent visa has the added bonus allowing spouses to work as well.
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